Perfect Strangers
by NyteGale
Summary: This one is for fans of the Billie and the big bad Wolf trilogy. A prequel describing events where the two met a long time ago. If you haven't read the other; reading this one may be a little hard to understand. Reviews are appreciated. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay; I know I promised you a one-shot but... its running longer than I anticipated and i think it would benefit from being split up. So next chapter will most likely be the last; this will definatley not exceed three chapters however. I hope you enjoy the prequel as much as you did the original... And if you are reading this first; well... critique me please! I love it, even bad critiques.**

* * *

_**J**__**ames****_ McCloud narratin_g: "When Billie first decided it was time to distance herself from me, the day was bright and warm: not really ideal for such a sad state of affairs. But the fact of the matter is, if I had known then what I know now… the sunny mood would have been just right. But it can be hard to maintain hope, if you don't know the outcome of the story…**_

"_**Now keep in mind, most stories throughout Lylat; and whatever system the people who see this testament are from have a basic formula. A beginning, middle and an end… Well, this is not one of those stories. This is one, which has many tied little threads that go beyond what most people… even those involved know.**_

"_**Every now and then, things can get tossed out of balance by the selfishness of an individual… Like Andross, and even like Billie's old headmistress… This causes a ripple that can have effect on a great number of people; even almost a century down the line. For those of you that thought the story of my son Fox began on the day he was born, well you would be wrong. Fact of the matter is; his story really began the day General Pepper decided to banish Andross to Venom.**_

"_**And as for those of you who may have thought the story of my good friend Billie began nearly 100 years ago the day she was born… or even the day she was sitting in that bar trying to drink away her problems, get some fast cash and her gruff future walked into the bar for information. Again you would be mistaken. Nahh, Billie and Wolf's stories both began at the same time, the first time they met… Not surprised they don't remember though; Wolf was such a little tike then. And Billie… well she had more important things to focus on. But I'm getting ahead of myself… strap yourselves in my friends; this is quite a tale…**_

"_**You see Billie had been called out by a reliable connection that there was quite a fat payday on its way to Corneria. As for the mood here, well the weather was acting a bit more in place as the rain pounded down on those cold streets…"**_

Billie walked on through the night in a long black hooded coat; it draped her body, covering her from view, and created a veil of shadow over her face that also helped to keep off the rain. She trudged along the streets at around 2:00 a.m.; the only time her contact would dare to show himself, her breath rose up into the air visible for just a few moments in the slight cold the deluge had brought with itself.

She came to a stop in front of what used to be one of her favorite places: the Cornerian Flight Academy. Back on better looking days she would often wait for him at the gate as to exchange their daily lessons with one another. But that had been short lived when people became curious as to who James was going to meet every day. The rain pounded down on the building, and the yellow glow of the street lights gave everything an eerie shine in the darkness. She looked at the basic Arwing models, glowing with the wet cold like everything else… allowing the racing thoughts that plagued her so to settle on fondness for a moment, but only for a moment at a time could she ever find relief from them.

She let out a long sigh… the kind of sigh that came from a hard life, a hard life that had no friends or family to alleviate the stress for very long. Sometimes she felt as though the Shadow Legions she had left behind on that horrid moon were laughing at her; laughing at the great array of misfortunes that she had brought upon herself in leaving.

She returned her gaze to the wet sidewalk and picked up a steady stride forward. She made her way through the alley ways that the faint of heart would never travel to; the ones that you could just tell led to a bad neighborhood. She walked on through the outskirts of the bad neighborhood which were never as bad as what lied deeper within… She didn't even bat an eye as she strode on past a dismal looking orphanage: as if there was any other kind.

"_**Now what Billie didn't know, was at that very moment, on the second floor, in his sleep there was a young, violet eyed lupine; clutching a golden pendant tight to his chest… After all, this was the closest thing that the kid had to any manner of family. And Billie, well she carried her emblem in her coat pocket at that time, I'm sure you are familiar with her strange antique comb… but I digress."**_

After leaving the slumped looking building behind she continued her way in; eventually making it to a warehouse district that was not in use anymore… At least not by anyone there to make an honest living. She stopped at the one labeled 14 B; this was the place, she tried the door… locked, but made of inferior wood at least. She took a step back and kicked it in. It fell into the room with a clatter to the floor, and she let herself in.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming." Said a hushed voice from within.

"Took the long way…" Billie said with her falling out with James still fresh on her brain.

"_**At this point in time, she no longer kept up with me; had no idea I had a son… a son that would become a classmate of the very same lupine asleep in that dingy orphanage." **_

"Well I can't afford to be here much longer!" Said the shadowed figure in a hushed scream.

"If Dexter finds out I'm here he's going to put me on the chopping block. Just take this…" The figure said handing her a memory chip that would become out dated in about ten more years.

"This has every loose end we discussed on it?" Billie asked taking it, and then the figure backed up towards the exit opposite the one she came in through.

"Yes. Every bit. Do not try to contact me again; we have never met bounty hunter, got it?" The figure said in a hushed whisper.

"As promised, I will over look your bounty in the future." Billie nodded. Then she turned back out into the rain and left as quickly as she had come.

* * *

"Hey Wolf get up!" said a small child's voice.

Wolf felt a pillow smack him in the face, and blinked his blurred eyes open.

"Come on, if you don't get up Charlie is gonna have a fit." Said the little raccoon looking up at his fellow orphan.

"Yeah okay…" Wolf said in a small but still gruff voice rubbing his eyes.

Charlie, her full name Charlotte Miller was the large black bear who ran the orphanage; she wasn't mean, quite the contrary. Most of the kids loved her, however if kids weren't up and chores weren't done on time she could get a little testy. Wolf tucked his pendant into his baggy hand me down shirt and made his bed along with the other boys in the room.

"Let's go get food!" Said the small raccoon to Wolf.

"Wait up Ralph!" Wolf called after him; Ralph was the youngest boy there, only like seven years old. So all of the other boys were nice to him, and Wolf went out of his way to keep an eye on him.

After the boys had stuffed themselves with the tasteless food, they walked off to the public elementary school five blocks away. Wolf stuck close to Ralph as usual.

"Now you boys be careful!" Charlie called in her booming voice; the voices of bears really did carry a ways. They walked away from the slumped looking building that had '_Mrs. Miller's home for boys' _painted in calligraphy over the double doorway.

"You know you are starting to sound like Charlie." Ralph laughed to Wolf as they walked across the sidewalks with the other boys.

"What do yah mean?" Wolf asked in a sort of developing accent, which would eventually be the way he always spoke.

"Like that!" Ralph said pointing at him. "Yah tawk like thiiis." Ralph continued.

"Yeah, he's right!" Said an avian boy about Wolf's age.

"That's only because Wolf has been here longer than anyone else." Said a tall tree frog boy.

"Oh what the fuck ever." Wolf said getting aggravated.

"OOOOOOOH" All the boys stopped and said.

"Wolf said a swear!" Ralph laughed.

"When are yah gonna grow up guys." Wolf said, wanting his time in that orphanage to come to an end.

"We will when we get adopted!" Said some sort of chestnut canine boy as they turned a corner.

"Awww!" Wolf stopped in his tracks and looked at the flight academy gates. "Now that's the life!" He said grabbing Ralph's hand and running up to the gates to get a look at the Arwings.

"You always say that though… you should be a pilot!" Ralph said.

"I **am** going to be a pilot…" Wolf said gazing on at the students in the academy with determined violet eyes. "And I'll fly way away from Corneria… and this stupid place." He said clenching his fists.

"Ouch you're squishing my hand." Ralph said.

"Sorry!" Wolf said and let go.

"Hey you guys! You can't be late!" Called the tree frog across the street.

"I know damnit! Come on." Wolf said and snatched Ralphs hand back up tugging him along so they wouldn't get separated.

When they finally arrived at the school the boys all ran off to their various classes. Wolf walked on with Ralph for one reason…

"Hey skuz buckets!" Said a tall hyena boy.

Ralph hid behind Wolf; who had begun walking Ralph to his class every morning after this kid had beat him up.

"Oh look, you still have your body guard. No worries he's just as poor as you. And with a stupid name like Wolf; gosh he's begging for it even harder." He sneered.

"Ralph, go to class." Wolf ordered.

"But…" Ralph argued since the last time Wolf fought the bully he lost, badly.

"I said go." Wolf said snappishly. Ralph turned and ran to his classroom while looking over his shoulder.

"You know something… I really hate people like you." Wolf said.

"OOOOOH tough guy." Said the bully with a hyenas laugh.

"Yeah, people who think just because they have a physical advantage they can just do whatever they want to smaller kids! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Wolf said running at him.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" All of the students gathered around the two chanting.

The hyena ran right at Wolf in turn, and they started throwing fists. Wolf slammed his fist into the bullies' head and sent him back a little, but hurt Wolf's fist as well. He dodged the bully's right hook, but took his left to the face. He fell back a ways, and then with a the rush of adrenaline that he would one day learn to savor like a drug; he tackled the bully down to the ground, they tumbled around until Wolf was on top. Wolf laid a barrage of punches into his face.

"Leave" punch "Ralph" punch "alone" punch "jackass!" But before he could land his last punch, a teacher grabbed him under the arms and pulled him off of the bully.

"That is enough!" Said the white feline teacher holding the enraged Wolf back from the bully with the bloody nose.

"Call Mrs. Miller!" She called to another teacher over the mass of scattering students who didn't want to get in trouble.

* * *

"Billie?" She heard a feminine voice calling.

She looked around at the blackness she was engulfed in and saw a strange figure moving in it.

"Wake up!" She heard the voice call as a chill spread through her bones.

Billie's head shot off of her pillow; her hair bunched up and tangled every which way and she looked over at the big pair of green eyes looking down on her.

"You know Billie if you are going to sleep all day you should at least sleep in your ship so I don't have to tip-toe around you…" Said a pretty blue peacock through a sleek black avian smile that tugged up at the edges of her mouth.

"Sorry Grace; it was pouring last night and... wait, I don't have to explain myself to you!" Billie said tossing her pillow at the blue bird that had turned around to snoop through a desk drawer.

Grace let it hit her in the shoulder without even flinching.

"And why are you digging through my crap?" Billie said tossing herself back onto the bed.

Grace didn't answer; Billie just stared on in aggravation. Now it is important to note that in the world of avians, the males were always colored more brightly; and with more distinguishing feathers. Particularly with peacocks the males were always so vibrantly blue with those intense green feathered tails. Grace, had a blue face that made her green eyes stand out well, however past her shoulders and chest her feathers became a coco brown color, and although her tail was considerably smaller and less vibrant than that of a males, her hair was a rather luscious brown with two of those trademark peacock eye feathers trailing off to the left side of her face.

Grace always wore blue; to try and make up for the lack of it over her body. Her tail was a deep black that matched her ashen black avian legs which Billie always thought were her best feature. In combat Grace would rely mainly on martial arts involving kicks, which is why she had to cover her long lovely legs all the time with her steel-toed combat boots.

Billie let out a long sigh and shot up, she needed a shower anyways. On the way out of the room she gave grace a slap on the back of the head for not answering her.

_**Grace had bumped into Billie on the job… they were both after the same bounty; while the guy tried to get away during their argument they both beat the shit out of him and really hit it off. Billie had been wanting to move her main base of operations so I would have no way of locating her… after our little spat her nightmares had returned worse than ever; I suppose that was what unnerved her more than anything. Billie always had to run from her troubles; ever since she was a child. But that is neither here nor there. She had been running back and forth from her old base moving her things; and she was edgy because she was hoping that I wouldn't show up there one day looking for her… well, the little argument we had; was not the last time we spoke. Not to mention trying to take Grace the much younger less skilled bounty hunter under her wing was another task in itself.**_

"Grace I've told you; if we are going to be living under one roof you are gonna have to stop rifling through my shit!" Billie said snatching her comb up and dragging it through her wet locks.

"But you said you would show me your tech!" She said through hopeful emerald eyes.

"And you never even told me if about how the rendezvous with your man on the inside went. Was the info good?" Grace said still looking for the chip.

"It's in my ship if you are still looking for it there; and I have to go get more of my stuff…" Billie concluded walking out of the room.

"Hey! Billie that's not fair we are supposed to do everything 50/50, remember?" Grace called after her with feathers ruffled in aggravation.

"I said 70\30…" Billie called from the bathroom.

"Well we agreed on 60\40!" Grace banged on the door in a huff.

"Who the hell said 50\50 then?" Billie asked with a giggle.

"Radical Billie my ass…" Grace mumbled crossing her feathered arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry; what nickname did they give you?" Billie said emerging from the bathroom fully dressed.

"Gee… I can't remember ANYTHING." Billie said with her finger on her chin, her ears bent back and her eyes looking up in sarcastic thought.

"Uck!" Grace said as her plumage popped up in annoyance.

Bounty hunters never could get along very well… Grace mostly put up with Billie because she was a damn gold mine at the time. Plus; back in those days every bounty hunter on Corneria would give an arm and a leg to be trained by the famous bounty hunter who came from somewhere outside of Lylat; that was the only truth to any of the rumors that swarmed about her.

The bounty hunter in question had not changed her fashion sense in the least for about 50 years. In her black buckled combat boots and matching black and white casuist she made her way out to her baby. She grabbed a tattered black hood that wrapped around her neck like a scarf and slung it over her ears as she made her slow stride; the hood cast a decent enough shadow over her face that she could completely black it out with shadow lace if she needed to not be recognized.

"Awww did you miss me? I missed you too baby…" She said listening to engine roaring to life.

Every time Devin's old engine came to life she could feel her own energy pulsating through the machine giving it her own breath of life; it truly was her baby.

"So what am I supposed to do while you're gone?" Grace said looping her hair around one feathered finger looking rather bored.

"I don't care; as long as it doesn't involve going through my stuff…" Billie said as her canopy came to a close.

* * *

"Wolf I'm happy that you decided to walk your little friend to class; but this can't continue…" Said the principal; a white Scottie in a bad plaid suit.

"He started it!" Wolf cried in his defense.

The white cat standing next to the principals desk looked at him and as she spoke;

"It's true; my student Ralph told me all about it-"

"Yeah, and you guys didn't do nuthin' about that asshole!" Wolf spat crossing his arms.

"WOLF O'DONNELL!" He heard a loud angry voice say.

He turned around with wide eyes and saw Charlie standing in the doorway.

"Boy how many time have I told yah not to be usin' language like that?!" She said marching up to him and giving him a little slap on the back of the head.

"Sorry Charlie…" He gruffed rubbing his head.

"Sit down Miss Miller…" The principal said getting up and gesturing with his arm.

"Now Wolf is right, nothing was done before because Ralph refused to talk about what he saw-"

"Because he's scared!" Wolf argued getting angrier.

"Calm down…" Said the feline teacher in a soothing way placing a hand on Wolf's shoulder.

"However…" The principal continued clearing his throat. "In light of recent events, we are going to be suspending the other student involved; and we have told his parents about his behavior. But that doesn't change the fact that you were involved therefore you will be going home early today…"

Charlie let out a sigh of relief, and the white cat pointed to her watch looking at the Scottie and clicked on her very high heels out of the room.

"Now Mr. O'Donnell; while it's a good thing you were trying to help Ralph I must ask you… not to get yourself sent to my office again. Understand?"

Wolf just slumped down in his chair feeling the unfairness of it all sink in.

"Mr. O'Donnell?" The principal pressed.

"Got it…" Wolf said flatly.

Charlie walked with Wolf down the blocks back to the house.

"Boy; you sure do attract alota trouble." She said with a boisterous laugh.

"I had to do something!" Wolf said looking up to his guardian.

"Ralph still won't talk to the other kids… and they keep picking on him for it."

"So what are you gonna to do boy? Fight all of his battles for him?" She said realistically.

"No! But yah can't rely on adults for help! I'm trying to teach him to stick up for himself."

"By fighting all of his battles for him?"

Wolf stopped in his tracks realizing how stupid it sounded.

"Wolf, you're still the only person he speaks to; not the other boys, not even to me. And when people come looking to adopt; they don't want to choose Ralph because of that. If you really want to help him, show him how to start speaking to others…how to be more open to the world around himself." Charlie said putting a hand on Wolf's back and pushing him along.

"I'll… try…" Wolf said realizing how right Charlie was.

"But as my own personal form of punishment… You are going to be doing chores until the other boys get home." She said with a big grin.

But Wolf was distracted by a whizzing sound; he looked up overhead and saw a weird ship flying overhead. It was black and white and didn't look like an Arwing at all, it didn't even sound like an Arwing. Then it zoomed on into the distance and was gone.

"You listenin' boy?" Charlie said pulling him out of the thought.

"Yeah…" He said wondering where that ship had come from. It was not Cornerian standard issue at all.

"I wunna be a pilot…" He whispered to himself looking at where it had vanished over the flight academy.

Charlie shook her head looking at the small lupine dream gazing; she never did understand how he had so much trouble getting adopted after all this time. He was a smart kid.

* * *

Overhead in the very ship he had admired Billie zoomed forward until the city had turned into jungle below. When the city was small out in the distance, rain began with a drizzle. She hated piloting in the rain, it made it difficult to see and created turbulence; after all, the vehicle she was in really was designed for space.

The rain started to pick up; to thunder down over the jungle in large round drops creating varieties of soothing noises. And after some slight aggravation of piloting through it she came upon her old hidden base and touched down to the soft mud.

Not wanting to get drenched she made a dash from her ship to the side door of the place, and flicked on the lights once she was in. Pulling her hood down with a sigh, she whipped the water off of her tail then looked up. She nearly fell backwards with a yelp of surprise. Clutching the door behind her and her own chest she looked at the figure sitting on her packing boxes and put on an angry; but funny face.

"What are you doing here James?! I didn't see your ship outside? WHY ARE YOU SNEAKING UP ON PEOPLE; WHAT, WHAT, WHAT?" she yelped repeatedly in a fluster.

"If my just sitting here surprised you than I think you've lost a few steps since we last spoke two months ago…"

"Well shit!" Billie said recomposing herself. "I didn't see your Arwing outside."

For a minute they sat and stood as the rain and thunder filled the silence of the room.

"So what are you doing here?" Billie said shooing him off of a packing box.

"Well, I came here a few days ago hoping to patch things up and… saw the moving supplies; you weren't here. I'm embarrassed to say I waited around all day. And as for the reason you didn't see my ship was because I followed you here; I saw you flying over the city and knew that model anywhere."

"Oh…" She said tossing some tools into a metal box.

"So, you have moved some place to get away from me huh?" James said sounding disappointed.

"Not you in particular…" She said honestly; but still trying to be vague.

"Look Billie…" James sighed.

"I'm not joining your band of… whatever you're going to call it." She said quickly.

"It's not about that."

"Oh? Then why are you here?" She said folding up the top of a box full of crap.

_**Now let me pause it right here… At this point; I knew there was nothing I could do or say to change Billie's mind about moving on. What I didn't tell her was that I had looked into some old records while work was being done on the Great Fox… there had been a bounty hunter by the name of Billie Shade in the Lylat system a few years before… how many years before? Try 30. So at this point I knew there was something strange going on. And frankly, I knew she was going to keep moving and I merely wished to give her a Bon Voyage… Heh… I never was real good with goodbyes though…**_

"Billie, I just know that…" James looked for the next words; choosing each one carefully as he tried to be vague in his knowledge of her.

"You have managed to get along great all of this time so… wherever you wind up next; I wish you all the luck in the world old friend."

Billie's hands stopped at those words… this really was goodbye for the last time. She turned to say something; but James was already making his way to the front door. And when she opened her mouth to speak, he filled the silence in her stead:

"Just remember; to always follow your instincts. And don't stop moving."

And then James walked out into the rain and out of Radical Billie's life for the very final time. She stood there looking at the door for an amount of time that felt long but she didn't keep track of. She was alone in this world; yet again.

And yet again: it was her own doing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay I'm sorry I have been flaking with this one. But it's gonna be three chapters. Yeah I have too much back story bouncing around in my head (That I have come to think of as cannon) to do a one shot. Again sorry. Chapter three should be up soon; but if it isn't I apologize in advance.**

* * *

Chapter 2

Billie sat in her cockpit a long time; the storm had moved in over Corneria City; and she sat in the ship lot as the great parking clamps clasped her into place. Not all ship lots had machinery like this, mostly just places that were cramped for space. Still she sat in her sleeping ship, watching the rain pound down over her canopy… letting everything that had happened truly sink in for the first time. With the worn out look one sees in the eyes of someone who had very little sleep she managed to pull her gaze downward to the dash; she strummed the fingers of her right hand over it in thought.

'Could use a computer in here…'

She heaved a sigh out just a bit too loud, and then threw her hood over her head. Getting out of her baby she made her way through the rain.

"Well it's about time; honestly there's work to do." Grace said as Billie dripped her way into their base.

"Yeah, I got it right here…" Billie said unzipping the front of her cat suit, sliding the memory unit out from under her chest.

"Gimmie!" Grace said reaching for it.

"Why? So we can use it on your outdated piece o' crap you call a computer? No. I brought mine from my base." Billie said dangling the chip just out of the avians reach.

"Oh, can I see it?"

"Not only can you see it; but imma let you bring it in from my ship!" Billie said with a sarcastic sort of excitement.

* * *

Wolf looked over at the rain pouring down on the city, just outside of the porch he was on; overlooking the backyard of the orphanage. The water coming down in fat drops made the once grassy, weeded playground look shiny, and slick. The broom in his little hands kept on swooshing the bricks; pushing all of the dust and dirt out into the deluge as he looked like quite possibly the most bored canine in the Lylat system.

"Okay, you've suffered enough boy." Charlie said emerging from the back door.

"The other boys get out in about ten minutes, why don't you take them their umbrellas?" She said handing a bundle of them to him.

Wolf just nodded and kept staring at the ground. Charlie opened her mouth to say something, but Wolf made a quick stride into the building leaving her behind. The place was spotless from all the cleaning she had made him do, but he didn't care; he just wanted to talk to Ralph. After what Charlie had said to him he realized if he didn't want that kid to grow up to be more like himself; he had to get him to speak to others.

When Ralph emerged from his class he looked onward through the pounding rain to see a grey lupine under a black umbrella gazing back in his direction from his position on the sidewalk. With a wide grin Ralph ran through the droplets and found shelter under the same umbrella.

"Didn't you get in trouble?" Ralph asked as the other boys seized umbrellas from Wolf.

"Wolf?" He pushed again gazing up at the lupine's vacant expression.

"We gotta talk kiddo…" Wolf said a bit hoarsely over the noise of rain.

Putting a hand on the small boys shoulder Wolf began to walk Ralph home through the misty weather.

* * *

"Seriously?!" Grace cried with an angry squawk.

"Seems so…" Billie said calmly observing her computers projected screen.

"Surely he can't be serious? I mean what a dipshit move coming here while the heat is on him still!" Grace continued.

"I agree…" Billie said leaning back in her chair playing with her hair. "He's either more of a dumbass than I originally thought… or he's planning something."

"Or this info is shit!" The avian stomped away a bit antsy.

"No… the contact was a reliable one; especially with what I promised him." Billie continued putting her feet up.

"Why would he hold something like that in such a public place?" Grace turned her gaze back on the bored looking Billie.

"Well somewhere so public would discourage a firefight. And if the police show up he can easily be lost in the scramble of drunken club goers." Billie giggled to herself half-heartedly.

"Well only a dumbass would try to go after Tyson in the middle of a crowded club that is true…" Grace retorted.

"Yeah… what would a dumbass do?" Billie asked out loud; and then in her own mind asked the question she had truly been implying: 'What would James do?'

Billie sat there for a long moment making the same face she had worn when she told James off for the first and last time, and then she bit her lip and stared off into space.

"You okay?" Grace said raising an eyebrow.

"Uh… yeah. I'm gonna go get some take out." She said quickly and rose to her feet. Her voice was shaky as the entire weight of what she had done that afternoon came down to crush her chest.

* * *

"You are going to grow up just be thrown in the loony bin if you don't start talkin'." Wolf said looking down at the small boy pouting in his bed with his arms crossed.

Ralph looked like he was going to cry, and he turned towards the wall and continued to pout like small children do. Wolf sighed and sat down on the foot of the bed looking down at his feet; he didn't know what else to do. He had tried everything short of slapping Ralph around a little bit just to get him to open up to other people. And now he wouldn't even talk to Wolf.

"Look Ralph; you don't… want to be like me." Wolf began in earnest.

Ralph turned his still pouty gaze over his shoulder listening.

"Sitting around in this stupid place… getting into all kinds of trouble; knowing I'm too old to get adopted but still forced to stay here and watch all the other kids come and go. You aren't like me yet… But if you keeping sitting around not talking the days are gonna pass you by like they did me, and then you'll be all alone!" Wolf clenched his fists at these words so hard they hurt.

"And deep down you'll know the truth; no one wants you… no one needs you, you are just existing." The young Wolf refused to cry, he couldn't; he wasn't some kid anymore. But as Ralph looked on he could see his friend shaking, from the effort to not cry.

"So speak!" Wolf yelled shooting his body up. "Let them know you are here! And that you don't give a shit if they don't need you because you don't need them! You are going to fine without them. Get yourself out of here!" Wolf glared up at the ceiling, talking more about himself now than Ralph.

"My daddy used to talk a lot…" Ralph began in a small voice. "He would read me stories, and take us places… and then when mommy didn't wake up one day; he just stopped talking. Stopped doing anything, that's why the people came and took me here, because they said daddy couldn't take care of me anymore…"

Wolf's ears drooped as Ralphs dripping eyes looked up at him.

"Why didn't he try to stop them?" Ralph said in a shaky voice, and then he began to bawl loudly, covering his eyes with his fists as his nose began to drip.

Wolf hugged his small friend and gritted his teeth, trying to keep his own tears in check. He couldn't keep it up though, a few large drops dribbled from his eyes as he spoke.

"I don't know… But it's his loss." He said desperately trying to keep it together.

At that moment Charlie stopped in the doorway and looked in on the two silently.

Wolf continued unaware of her presence. "You have to think about your mom, she'd want you to be happy; to be with someone who really wants yah. That's why you gotta talk Ralph… get adopted, people adopt if they really want a kid; you can still wind up with parents who will fight for you."

Charlie let out a small sigh of relief and quietly closed the door on the two boys.

_**That rainstorm moved on in through the night over our sad two wolves. And with both of them leading the lives they did; the next day they would only find things to be getting worse on both ends… But that is a story for another day. **_

James looked out over Corneria City from a misty window, he moved his sunglasses to his forehead and stared down at the picture in his hands; it was Billie, leaning up against and Arwing with a grin on her face and James in a headlock. He was younger in this picture; it had been taken after she gave him one of his first mechanical lessons at the flight academy. Several of the teachers insisted she try and get a job there in the engineering department. But she ducked out of it pretty fast.

'I can't believe I never noticed before…' James thought.

The way she bent over backwards to avoid large groups of people. And what's more the way she never seemed to look even one minute older; even after all the time they had known each other.

"Couldn't get her to go along with it?" A soft voice came from behind him.

"Nah… I realize now that there was no way she would ever agree to something like that." He chuckled looking over at his Vixxy, holding his son in her arms.

"That's too bad… do you really think that was the same Billie from 30 years ago?" She inquired looking at his photo.

"Has to be… the description of the ship, her fashion sense and fighting style all fit the Billie I know…"

"She's definitely not Lylatian then?" Vixxy asked with large doe eyes.

"No…" James said putting the photo down.

"Well then maybe it's better this way." She said handing Fox to her husband.

"How's that?" James asked making cute faces at his kit.

"Well if the government found out about her; and her age, and of course her extensive knowledge of strange machinery… they would probably confine her to a cage. Until they had taken every ounce of what she knows… then they would use her body to synthesize some kind of ageless serum."

"You've seen too many movies." James laughed.

"Oh come on James you know how the government is, that's why you are becoming a freelancer." Vixxy shot back to his crossing her arms.

"I mean no wonder she went to such extents to avoid them… Look at what they did to Andross." She continued.

James sighed long and hard.

"Well… maybe this whole thing **is** for the best then."

"Of course; you ought to know by now I'm always right."

"Yeah that's what Billie said to keep in mind if I asked you out." James laughed heartily.


	3. Chapter 3

**FINALLY! I finally sat down and made myself finish this story! ENJOY IT PLEASE; AND FEEL FREE TO REVIEW YOUR BRAINS OUT.**

* * *

CHAPTER 3

"_**Ah, Wolf; I was wondering when I'd see you again." I said to the little panting lupine. I had told Billie I met a kid with great aptitude… But I had only showed him the door to our world. I had to see if he had the courage to open it on his own. I never did get to tell her of the day he came to me… It was the **_day_** I thought she died…**_

"_**I'm ready." The little Wolf said up to me. It was clear that he was…**_

**22 hours earlier: **

"Okay, so basically this Tyson guy is going to be alone in the V.I.P. room of the Peach Pit all night. Holding his little meetings while the clubbers are going on below… We can charge in posing as escorts and kill him. What do you think?" Billie said looking over the meeting list.

"Who is this guy? I've never heard of Dexter Tyson…" Grace said with a click of her beak.

"Uhm… did you even hear what I said?" Billie asked looking annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah we go in looking like sluts to shoot him it's just why do they want him dead?" Grace asked sitting on the end of a table.

"He's gaining in popularity in the crime world… particularly in this sector where the population is the densest. An official by the name of… Cornelius Pepper wants him dealt with before he builds up some kind of empire."

"A crime empire? In Lylat? Yeah right… this is the most boring system in the Milky Way: nothing like that ever happens." Grace huffed.

"First time for everything…" Billie lied, remembering when the edge of Lylat was subject to gang wars 30 years or so back. She actually stepped up to help and snuff it out.

"AND." Grace went on over dramatically. "Why should we pose as whores? I say we go in there armored up guns blazing and shoot this fuck!"

"Is that bravado I hear?" Billie sat up. "The downfall of many naïve bounty hunters… In this business you have to be sneaky."

"Ugh, I hate being subtle…"

"Okay… how about instead of posing… we work our way through the vent work?" Billie shrugged.

"Hmm… I could dig that." Grace beamed out in thought.

"Fair enough?"

"Alright let's do it!"

"Oooookay…" Billie echoed looking through Tyson's schedule.

"At midnight he is meeting with just one person… It's his last meeting too. We'll get him then."

"One person? Who?" Grace asked stepping up behind Billie's chair.

"Someone named… Annette, huh there's no last name. Just Annette…" Billie said reading it suspiciously.

"Ah whatever, we can just shoot her too." Grace shrugged.

"A little something called subtlety…" Billie retorted snarkily.

"What's that?" Grace said over sarcastically.

Billie had to admit Grace was growing on her; she giggled and then projected the blueprints for the Peach Pit club so they could devise a strategy and be ready for tonight.

* * *

Potential parents were looking over all of the children standing in line at the orphanage as they spoke with Charlie early that morning. Wolf wasn't interested however… his mind was on other things as he stood next to Ralph. Looking down at the floor in front of him his mind went back to the strange ship he saw cutting over the city yesterday; and then drifted back even farther to a few months ago.

Wolf had been standing in front of the flight academy like he often did on days he had to himself.

"I see you here a lot." Wolf turned at the voice.

"What of it?" He said aggressively to the red Vulpine standing near the gate.

"Oh, I see he's got bark; can you back it up with bite?" James said lowering his dark glasses to get a better look at the kid.

"Tch…" Wolf spat and turned to go.

"You know I've seen the way you look at the ships for some time now; you ever thought of enrolling?" James called out to the little lupines back.

Wolf stopped in his tracks and squeezed his fists together; someone like him could never afford something like that… And with his record of fighting at school they would never grant him a scholarship even if he cared enough to get decent grades.

"Wouldn't matter if I tried…" He growled more to himself than to James.

Returning his glasses to their proper position the wily fox smirked as an idea formulated in his mind.

"You know people really only become pilots because they want to… it's not just something you can fall into." He looked at the clothes that were obviously too big for the boy and nodded with realization.

"What if I could get you into an apprentice program?" The vulpine finally came out and said.

Wolf turned around with wide eyes.

"What's that?" He said with a glitter of hope.

"Heh…" James couldn't help but admire that reaction.

"It's a new program my friend Peppy suggested… Essentially if a youngster like yourself shows great aptitude but can't quite make the funds to enlist; someone like myself makes a contract between you and the school so that I'd become your teacher. Basically you would be a student at this academy, but I would be your private instructor." James crossed his arms and looked down at the boys shocked expression.

"And guardian if necessary." He finished. "It's experimental so you'd probably get right in…"

"You mean… I could live here- in the dorms." Wolf said slowly looking over at the academy.

It was nice, finely crafted old architecture. The grounds were wide open and well kept. Wolf couldn't be positive but he was sure the inside had to be luxurious; and he would probably have his own bedroom.

"Yeah." James nodded.

"And, I would learn to fly… those." His big hopeful eyes fell on the Arwings.

"Yup."

Wolf stood there staring.

"But…" James said taking a step back and joining Wolf in looking on at the academic structure of the buildings that clustered the horizon.

"You would have to be willing to give up everything… Can you do it? Can you throw everything away but the clothes on your back and pick up an entirely new world? Can you just leave everything you used to be behind?"

There was a silence between the two as the wind picked up in the thick, golden twighlight air.

"If you think you can; just come back to this place and ask for James McCloud."

_**"I walked away, to let him think about it. His hesitation showed he wasn't ready… But I knew that look in his eyes, the same one I had a long time ago on Papetoon. Peppy suggested the apprentice program to keep people like me and him from falling through the cracks. Not just anyone can be a pilot: you gotta want it. I knew he did; but it was up to him to make the first move for himself…"**_

Wolf was torn away from his memory by a squeeze of his hand. He looked down to see Ralph with a couple of Raccoon Dogs looking down at him.

"Hello, what is your name?" Said the woman; she was very pretty, with a sweet round face.

Wolf nudged Ralph forward.

"R-Ralph." He said shakily.

"Well you are just adorable." She smiled down to him.

Her husband crouched down as well and began to talk to Ralph in a soft tone.

Wolf shrank himself into the background as Ralph slowly came out of his shell to the pretty lady. He headed for the stairs and found his way to his bed: he just wanted to be alone.

He plopped his body down on his bed and let his face sink into the pillow.

"What is wrong with me?" He said muffled by his pillow.

Why hadn't he gone into the building like he wanted to? Every single day since then he passed by it trying to muster the courage to go in… But he never got any farther than the gate.

On his way to school he thought about it. On his way home, hell every single time a ship flew overhead his mind went back to the offer that old fox had made him.

But he refused to move from where his roots had spread in this place. What was he afraid of?

* * *

The sun came and went, leaving a sickly trail of dark red behind it as the only evidence it had been there. Wolf was looking down at the parents leaving with their paperwork from his window. It was always a long time after the visit before anyone was actually taken home. He glanced down at the gold pendent in his palm as the sky grew darker…

"There's nothing left for you here…" He said under his breath trying to give himself some false courage.

The darkness that tagged along with the night like an old lover stuck to the cool air; as the noises of the nightlife developed into the ongoing night. This progressed as the hours became later and later…

"Okay it's 11;30!" Grace called over the blasting techno beat in club Peach Pit.

"We got time!" Billie called back doing a dance that Grace had been trying to mimic to no avail.

"How are you doing that?" She said growing more aggravated; looking on at the complex yet seemingly natural flow of movements Billie's arms and legs were attaining.

"Years of practice!" Billie called not missing a beat.

Everything in the club was a variety of soft warm colors; there was a glass bar in the center of the dance floor that had tall racks of various drinks high up to the ceiling. When someone ordered a drink metal arms would slide up and down to produce the right bottle into the bar tenders hands. The bar stools were plush and fuzzy; like peaches.

And the only real source of light came from the slowly shifting neon lights under the glass dance floor. The whole place just felt juicy and warm like being in the center of a peach. And as the minutes ticked on Grace and Billie made their way into the bathroom.

"Alright hang on to your butt." Billie said checking the stalls and then locking the door.

"Same to you." Grace said pulling a plasma pistol out of her cat suit.

In the light of the bathroom it was clear that they were not dressed like normal club goers. Grace was sporting her usual blue scheme with her hair tied back out of her face. And Billie threw a brownish gold lace up the back thing on; it laced up her back and arms, and could easily be worn as normal clothing. She tossed a black hood over her head that came up from the corset like portion of her outfit and hoisted herself up onto the sinks.

"Do you know how to unscrew it?" Grace asked looking up behind Billie.

"Sure do…" Billie said, and then discretely covering her hand in some shadow lace she punched it through.

"Nice…" Grace chuckled following her up.

"If you have to go potty go now…" Billie taunted as she climbed into the vent.

They silently made their way through remembering the layout of the vent structure from their briefing that morning.

"Okay, this is where we break." Billie said looking at a fork in the vents.

She sat down and turned to look at her partner from under her hood.

"You remember what to do right?"

"I'm not an idiot Billie." Grace said in a bitchy tone.

"Alright; make sure you cover that door and when you hear things getting hairy inside the room-"

"Yeah yeah I got it; bust in to save your furry ass."

"Good girl." Billie said like one would to a younger sister.

They both made their way down the separate vent ways; Billie going right and Grace left.

"For a club this place is too damn big…" Grace complained as she looked down over the hallway. Behind that door was the largest V.I.P. room in the place, and also where Tyson's midnight meeting was about to begin.

She sat on her knees silently waiting… growing restless she checked the clock on her wrist cuff.

'Midnight.' She thought to herself and then turned her gaze downward.

'Come on already Annette.' She thought tapping her finger on her thigh getting antsy.

And then she heard a door open, along with a voice.

"He's right this way, and he's arranged it so you can talk as long as you need to."

Grace looked down at what she guessed was one of Tyson's body guards; he was a speckled hawk in a black suit leading the way for a very lovely almost caramel colored lynx. She sported a very tight but not overly revealing black dress. She could have been there to dance or to do business.

"Thanks." She said quickly to the hawk as he opened up the large doors for her, she disappeared into the room and he closed them.

Crossing his arms he took up space directly in front of the door.

'Great…' Grace thought aggravated at the well built but still rather short hawk. She had to cover that door.

Billie had told her not to do anything unnecessary; she tapped a feathered finger to her beak mulling it over for a few moments. The guy down there was pretty cute… maybe she would just go and say hi…

And in one fell swoop she kicked the vent down and went plopped down in front of the bird.

"Hey baby." She said winking at the alarmed guard.

"Well hello…" He said playing along with her as they struck fighting stances.

They circled each other carefully; until Grace found the door on her right side and it was to his left.

"My eyes are up here…" Grace taunted.

He looked her up and down like a piece of meat; although Grace was pretty curvaceous for an avian who were typically lighter and more nimble. Silence between them, if not for the light pounding of the music below…

At that moment she pulled her right leg up into the side of his face. He went back a ways towards window at the end of the hall.

"Too bad you shoulda' been watching my legs."

While he was dazed she sent an incredible series of kicks to the front of his body; balancing herself on one leg like a ballerina. Finally he grabbed her foot and tried to twist it but was only met with a metal slicing through the air sort of noise as a knife came out of the front of her boot.

"You little-" He started.

"Bitch?" She asked sending the boot into the side of his head.

"DUH." His body fell to the floor. "Meh, couldn't date such a pushover anyways…" She finished clicking the knife back into her boot.

She opened the tilt window and looked down at the back of the club below, there was a dumpster and a small fenced in cracked, overgrown parking lot.

"They must have gotten the parking lot across the street done recently…" She said in a huff lifting his body to the window and giving it a toss.

Closing the window she turned to the door and pressed her ear up to it to hear how Billie was doing.

"Well lookie what we got here…" a deep voice came from behind her and then her throat was grabbed.

"Looks like the other birdie flew the coop…" Said an angry looking and very muscular mustang down to the choked peacock.

* * *

'So that's Dexter Tyson…" Billie said looking at the large and very well dressed tiger in the luxurious V.I.P. room.

And then her attention turned to the double doors opening and a pretty caramel colored lynx stepping into the room. Her large pointed ears were bent back and she looked less than happy.

"Annette; make yourself comfortable." Dexter said taking a seat on an overly plush sofa.

"I'm fine right here…" She said glaring at him.

"I thought we could at least pretend to be civil about this." Dexter said with a grimace over his glass of wine.

"Why the hell did you come back here? I have never asked for anything from you but to leave me alone. And what is it with your goons out there showing up at my office in the middle of the night?"

"Still burning the midnight oil eh? I always liked your work ethic." Dexter said still smooth as silk setting his glass down.

"Why are you here? The police are still looking for you-"

"Because _you_ are here. I want to see him Annette."

'See who?' Billie thought getting into the conversation as if she were watching a bad soap opera.

"I told him you were dead." She spat glaring into him.

"Why?" Dexter said standing up.

"Because you may as well be! I had no idea you were into this crime ring business when we went out. That's why I-"

"He is my son!" Dexter yelled to her.

She backed away nervously.

"And I have every right to him that you do."

"I do not want Taylor involved in this world!" She yelled right back to him.

They were interrupted by a crash outside the door, she turned around looking panicked. Dexter smoothly put his fingers up to his collar and said:

"Marshall, get up here."

'Damnit Grace.' Billie cursed her in her head and pulled out her gun.

Kicking the vent down she plopped onto the table in front of Tyson with her pistol pointed straight at his face.

"Do, not, move." She said glaring at him from beneath her hood.

"See?" Annette shrieked pointing at Billie.

"It's only a matter of time until Taylor winds up on the end of a gun if I let him anywhere near you!"

"Uhh, mam'; could you do me a favor and go tell Marshall everything is fine in here? Then you can leave and go to your son; I'll forget I ever saw you." Billie said still staring at an angry tiger.

"Sounds like a plan." Annette said making for the door.

"Don't you dare…" Dexter said like a dagger to her back.

She stopped at the door. Billie wanted to just kill him, but not in front of a civilian like this.

"I'll just find you again…"

Then three shots were heard from the hallway outside the door.

"Shit!" Billie said pulling the trigger.

Tyson grabbed her arm and pointed the shot upward; Billie stumbled back and felt Tyson's squeeze on her arm.

"Gaaah!" She pulled away after feeling a harsh pop

"Run!" She called to Annette who barreled out of the door.

She turned back to Tyson in time to take four claws to the face.

'You have the power to end this.' She heard a horrible familiar voice in her head as blood sprayed from her left cheek.

She hadn't heard it that in a long time… since she had begun hanging out with James. There was no more James in her life now… she was alone again.

Bleeding she bolted for the door; she couldn't do this; not now. This whole thing was stupid, a stupid plan and it was stupid to have brought that rookie along. And on top of it all it was time for one of her freak outs!

"Grace?!" She screamed running into the hallway.

She ran to Grace who was doubled over near the window. Putting her hood down she dropped her gun with her broken arm and reached her good one down to the body.

Dexter came out looking in the direction Marshall had chased after Annette.

"Grace… come on!" Billie turned her over only to be met with a pair of dead listless eyes.

"Grace?" She said in a cracking voice.

The avian had three large plasma burns plunging deep into her chest. Billie felt the familiar sting of tears burning at her face.

"Well it just isn't your night…" She heard Tyson behind her.

She turned her bared and bloody face towards him with an equestrian standing behind him holding Grace's plasma pistol.

"Think I'll be keeping this though…" He said in a cold voice taking it from the one called Marshall. He pointed it at her.

"Any last words?"

Billie could only hear the old nameless specter; 'Just kill him! You could have done so already… you could have ended everyone in this city… GO ON. NOW!'

Billie took a step back as fat round tears fell down her face.

"Suppose not…" Dexter said it as if this was just another day for him. And then he fired.

A shot landed right into Billie's stomach and she shot some shadow lace up to make a shield to repel the next four shots; and then a pain was felt in her back as she shattered through the window.

Billie's mind went slowly as she fell through the air, the sparkling shards of glass mixing with droplets of her blood in a sickly slow-motion as she fell. Her mind went through a reel of the happiest moments in her life… that was when she realized how few there truly were; and how long they were prone to last for that matter.

_**"This is where Billie officially decided that she no longer cared if she lived or died. This is where she thought things were done… she had fought on a long time and it was time to give up the fight… **_

_**Unfortunately for Billie however fate can have a cruel sense of humor."**_

Billie felt herself land on something soft… but still with enough force to daze her, the glass chimed and tinkled down around her. With more tears dabbling down her face she pulled her body upward as if she were in a trance.

Her broken arm dangled beside her as she stood over the avian body that had broken her fall. If she was going to die it would not be here… It would be the last place she remembered being truly happy. Limping onward into the darkness she pulled her hood over her face leaving nothing but a trail of blood to show she had been there.

* * *

Wolf waited until everyone was asleep, even Charlie. He tugged some clothes on, and pulled some sneakers over his feet as quietly as possible. He opened the window looking out to the night; the breeze came in bringing a rush of cold to him and then disappeared. He placed one shoe on the windowsill and then furrowed his eyebrows looking back at Ralph asleep in his bed.

"Bye buddy…" He whispered too softly for anyone to hear.

But for his life to begin he had to be willing to leave everything behind, hiding his necklace in his shirt he silently leapt onto the ivy fence along the building and climbed down. Once he was outside of the gate he went from tiptoeing to a full sprint.

Sucking in air as he ran he went on and on this way for five blocks… looking at the flight academy growing closer and closer. He stood in front of the main gate panting. He stared on at the few lights of the dorms that were left on and wondered if one of them belonged to that fox… or if that guy was even still there.

Clenching his fist he couldn't be angrier at himself; he was hesitating, he had come all the way out here and still he was hesitating. He jumped when he heard sirens behind him, somewhere off in the distance. And then he turned around feeling uneasy when he was met with a very strange sight.

Hobbling towards him in an unnatural way there was a hooded figure. Feeling his fur stand on end in fear as it came closer and closer he ran backwards out of its path. Much to his surprise it didn't even acknowledge his presence; it simply limped on past him and stopped at the gate to the flight academy.

It stood there for a moment, Wolf looked closer under the street light and saw it wobbling back and forth, and then his eyes fell down on the trail of blood it had brought with it.

'It's hurt…' He thought. He jumped when he heard it collapse to its knees.

With its left hand it held onto the gate, Wolf looked down at its right hand; the white fur was a bright red with blood.

"Are you, a person?" Wolf asked stupidly looking at the white tail and one white hand clinging onto the fence.

It didn't answer but he heard it wheezing for breath. Daring a few steps closer to it he asked another question:

"Are you hurt?"

"What gave me away?" He heard a snarky tone retort from it.

"You're a girl?" He said looking at her weakly turn around and lean her back on the iron bared fence.

He felt his face grow warm when he could see her open mouth peeking out from under the hood leading down to some cleavage, but it was short lived when he saw the amount of blood that was coming down from her face onto her chest.

"Do you need help?" He said stepping forward.

"No!" She shouted stopping him in his tracks.

Then Billie looked down and shadow laced her face out of view from beneath her hood.

She looked back up to him from the blackest black he'd ever seen, not that he registered it; he was looking at the gaping wound on her stomach that she was trying to cover with her good hand.

"How old are you?" She asked him.

"11…" He admitted timidly.

"What in the hells bells is a kid like you doing out here this time of night?" She snorted.

"Hey don't talk to me like ima damn baby!" He yelled in an accent.

"Ha, cute." She said.

He looked back down at her wound and suddenly didn't see it; just a patch of black.

"How…" He began.

"Go home kid…" Billie said waiting for death at any moment… she didn't really want to die in front of some kid.

"This _is_ my home! I'm here to be a pilot." He said proudly.

"A pilot huh? …Take my advice and pick a different carrier." She said feeling faint.

"Why?"

"So you don't wind up like this." She wheezed.

"You're a pilot?"

"I was… now I'm just a corpse."

"So what you are giving up!?" Wolf snarled.

"What of it? I've lived a long time… done a lot. I'm just so tired of this, of this life… of this damn planet! Of people dying… Just want to rest now." It was almost a whisper.

"You can't just give up! That's not what life is about-"

"Don't talk to me about life." She snapped.

The last thing Billie wanted was a lecture about how great life was from some kid.

"Stop dismissing me because I'm small! I might just be a kid but I'm still old enough to know that yeah life sucks! You lose everything, or have nothing to begin with; so what? You have to get up and fight, fight and claw your way up! And _take_ what you want!" He said feeling suddenly very angry, but also more sure of himself than he had ever been before.

"Well… there's hope for you yet kid." Billie chuckled.

Then Wolf looked on with a grimace as he heard what sounded like crying from underneath that hood.

"I'm so tired of being here…" She said in a shaky sputter.

"How did this happen to you?"

"That's not important… But if you are so set on sticking to your guns, then go." She said pulling herself up.

"But you…"

"I said go!" She yelled. And he found himself spurred on by it.

Either by fear or some new found courage, his small feet ran into the school for the first time and it was one of the most exciting moments of his life. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the strange woman was gone…

_**"Had he imagined her? Was she some kind of ghost? Wolf never did find out as the rains began to pick up shortly after, washing the blood away: washing away any evidence that Billie had ever been there speaking to him.**_

_**All I know is about two minutes after that he came rushing into the doors of the school asking for me manically. School security brought him straight to me in the Arwing workshop where I was doing some late night tinkering.**_

_**He was ready. The next day as he was being sized for his uniform I saw the shootout that had taken place at the Peach Pit on the news… It was also the last time I heard anything on the whereabouts of Billie Shade. She was either dead or decided she could no longer call Corneria home.**_

_**As I know now, when she got back to her base she had to give herself medical treatments… spent two days sleeping it off and then left everything but her ship behind in the base. It reminded her too much of Grace… and how she had led the young bounty hunter to her death. **_

_**At this point Billie decided to completely alienate herself from everyone and live in her ship… Drifting off into the cold unknown of space she forgot all about the little boy who spurred her to keep going in his young naivety; and eventually Wolf forgot about the strange lady who gave him the final push of courage that he needed to find his way to me, on that otherwise quiet Cornerian night so long behind them both now."**_


End file.
